Page 10 of Unmasking Secrets
My focus should be spread between the cameras and figuring out how to help her get out of this situation. It’s what I’m being paid for and that makes me feel awful. I don’t want the money from this job. Not from her. Not from anyone. I’ll tell Tyler eventually. I don’t need him asking questions or suggesting someone else take this job. I’ll just leave the money untouched in my account until I can figure out how to return it to her.
Twenty minutes slip by before she moves to her wardrobe area and starts changing. Heat floods across my chest. I snap my gaze away, jaw tight. I should probably tell her I can see the entire room. But I won’t.
Standing abruptly, I head for the kitchen. The thought of her undressing in the next room follows me like lava under the skin. My entire body is feverish and on edge. I move around the kitchen and grab a glass from the drying rack, filling it with cold filtered water from the fridge. I pray the cold water will cool me down, or I need a fucking freezing shower.
“Hey, you read my mind.” Tabitha speaks as she passes me to the fridge and refills her reusable water bottle.
I’m not entirely sure what color the bottle is supposed to be. It’s covered in stickers. A mixture of bright and pastel colors, character art and symbols.
She sets the bottle on the counter softly, then opens up the cabinet above it. Her fingers brush the edge of a basket. She stretches and reaches for it, but only pushes it farther back into the cabinet.
“Let me.” I offer, already moving toward her.
“I got it.” Tabitha climbs up onto the counter, knees pressed to the surface, and digs through the basket before dropping a couple of tea packets on the counter.
When she shifts to move down, my hands are already at her waist. I lower her to the floor before I can think better of it.
“Arch.” Her whisper is barely there.
I let go but don’t step back. My hands grip the counter, caging her in. I shouldn’t have done that. Now all I can feel is her curvy backside pressed to my front. Soft curves tempting my restraint. This is a position I should’ve avoided. A mistake. My brain sort of short-circuits.
I try to think of anything to keep myself from growing hard against her ass before I finally shake myself out of it and take a step back.
She turns and looks at me. Her lips part as if she doesn’t know whether she wants to say something or run away from me.
Images from another lifetime flash across my mind. A time when I dared to tease her, just to see her reaction.
Sixteen YearsEarlier - Age 16
The ideaof a birthday party doesn’t sound exciting. The only thing that makes this one special is the perk of getting a driver’s license. And with that, more freedom. Tabitha insisted on having a birthday party, though. I don’t think she’s had one in a couple of years.
It’s different when you’re little. Birthday parties are fun for kids. It’s about presents, cake, games, and hitting a pirate filled with too much candy.
Bright pink and orange balloons are tied to the mailbox at the end of the driveway for those who haven’t been here before. I have. My family has joined the Grimaldis at this lake house for a lifetime of summer fun.
I park on the side street and make my way over to the side gate that’s propped open with a bucket of water guns. The sound of our friend’s laughter puts a smile on my face. I round the corner to see a few friends running around and ducking behind obstacles. Okay, this definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. Clearly, those water guns aren’t filled with just water; there’s color in them too. Like a weird water paint gun fight.
There are plenty of balloons and streamers decorating the back side of the house and porch. Tables are covered in plastic tablecloths in the pink and orange covers Tabitha had clearly chosen. All the junk food and soda a teenager could eat and more are spread in equally colorful bowls on the back table.
“Freeze!” Her voice comes up behind me before I even take a single step onto the large porch.
I glance over my shoulder to see her aiming a large water gun at me. “I didn’t bring a change of clothes.” Not that it matters.
“Oh.” She frowns and begins to aim the gun down.
Seconds pass as I take a step up the porch and hear her laugh. Then my back is soaked.
I turn on my heels, and she squeals as she runs away. I quickly grab a water gun to join the game, but chase after her. I’m on herin an instant. My arms wrap around her, lifting her and spinning us in a circle. She laughs as I put her down, but not before I have us pulled into the corner of one of the hiding spots of obstacles setup.
Tabitha hesitates before taking a step forward, then turns around. “Truce?” She raises one hand, the other relaxed at her side with her water gun.
“Hmm.” I look her over as if I’m considering it. Her white sundress is soaked in light pink and orange to match her decorations and reveals her pink swimsuit underneath. I know she asked me something, but my mind wanders a little too much. My eyes dart back up to her, and I swallow. “I’ll give you a three-second head start.”
Her eyes grow as she smiles and quickly spins around and takes off.
I give her more than a three seconds. My head leans back as I try to think of anything besides how she looked. Tabitha is my best friend, and I should not be thinking of her like that.
At some point, the game ends. I’m not sure who the winner is, maybe whoever is the driest at the end? By the end, we’re all sitting around drying off and eating. It’s dark by the time I’m dry; the sun has set below the hills across the lake.
